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The Hamilton Effect

Who would have thought that the first Formula 1 driver i would write about would be Lewis Hamilton. I hated the man when he shared a team with Fernando Alonso, that was the year Fernando hid behind his beard. But since the rivalry turned into respect and friendship, i have also come to respect the man for his talent – speed. Maybe its also because he hasn’t been a major threat to the Championship in a very long time, my hatred has shifted to Vettel.

The Lewis that i see today is far from the young boy who denied Massa of a Championship in 2008. It seems his move from McLaren has truly given him freedom to express himself. Today he has tattoos all over his arms, he has a certain swagger when he walks and he brings his dog Roscoe to the track. Funny that in the beginning it was his father who was always in the paddock with him, today its Nicole his girlfriend and Roscoe. I wonder which of the two replaced good ol dad? Even when he speaks he seems more calm, more humble seems like a mature young man. But why isnt he winning races or at least being as competitive as Nico. Rosberg has out qualified him almost every time, and even won a race from pole. Is John Watson correct in saying Lewis should focus on racing instead of on Roscoe, Nicole and his Hip lifestyle. I mean John is an old racer who won 5 races, what does he know about racing in 2013 and more so what does he know about Lewis’ lifestyle besides what he sees on TV.

What am i saying here? Lewis Hamilton is arguably one of, if not the fastest racer in formula one today. That’s my opinion, over one lap that boy is untouchable. But all that speed has come to nothing over the past few years and his 2nd world championship is long overdue. He should really decide if i wants to be a racer or a hip hop star. He gave F1 a lot of “urban” followers who are now getting despondent due to his performance, or lack thereof.

2 thoughts on “The Hamilton Effect”

Interesting perspective – I too have felt a bit of a shift in my feelings towards baby-face. Definitely a little spark of loving thats starting to twinkle in my heart. But I think part of that respect comes from the move away from the heated competitiveness. He’s becoming less of a hot-head and becoming a sportsman. When Merc instructed Rosberg to give Hamilton the win, he did as he was told, but not with a happy heart.
If he was the aggressive competitor that you’re hoping for then you would still hate his attitude – you cant get the best of both worlds.
As much as we like to convince ourself differently, driving for Hamilton and his F1 cronies is still a job – a job that they work on a lot harder than most of us do (fair enough, the rewards pay off). I like to think that Hamilton has found a kind of work/life zen. And that balance is making him a more likeable driver. The drivers I really like, I dont like just because they’re winning, I like them because of how they drive and how they confront the world. If I just liked drivers for their stats – Vettel would be on the top of the list.

I think people have double standards when it comes to Hamilton, let him live his life. I don’t see how bringing a dog and ‘living the life’ have anything to do with success, you don’t have to be a fasting celibate monk who does not speak to reach to the heights of your potential. I think he’ll be just fine, all this talk of Rosberg is all just noise people seem to forget that Hamilton is 4th in the championship last year people called him ‘not so bright’ for leaving Mclaren and yet here we are. I can’t help but draw a comparison between Lebron James and Hamilton how their viewed and measured by such an unrealistic standard that is not applied to their peers. Unfortunately F1 is not like tennis where you win by the strength of your own hand(literally), the car is biggest factor, if Alonso, Kimi or Hamilton where in that Redbull they would all be poised to become four time world champion, it does seem a bit moot that F1 driver’s greatest is measured by championships when the car is the primary cause of a championship given the four equally elite drivers we have in F1.